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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22500931">Waiting For The Sunlight</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MirrorDragon/pseuds/MirrorDragon'>MirrorDragon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Dooblebug's Mer AU [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hollow Knight (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mer AU, This makes absolutly no sense out of context but to all you discord buddies, just oodles of fluff and cuddles, this ones for you</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 17:47:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,380</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22500931</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MirrorDragon/pseuds/MirrorDragon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Since the pollution has finally been rid from her body, God Tamer is finding it tortuously difficult to adjust to a serene lifestyle. Expecting death with every movement, and with no beast to watch over her now, sleep doesn't come easily.<br/>But at least one thing in this reef is familiar.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>God Tamer &amp; Tiso (Hollow Knight)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Dooblebug's Mer AU [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1627666</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>93</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Waiting For The Sunlight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So uhh, Dooblebug's mermaid au, am I right guys!<br/>Seriously, check it out. I have gotten so hooked on this, I've derailed all my plans to just write mermaid angst.<br/><a href="https://dooblebugs.tumblr.com/tagged/mer-au">Click here for mermaids!!</a></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Her eyes burned, vision fading in and out as she stared out into the grey, gloomy water. The curled-up ball of eel that lay in front of her gently rose and fell with every soft breath, and God Tamer hunched back further against the jagged stone walls.</p><p>She didn’t blink. Her gaze fixed forwards and expression ice cold, her mouth stretched into a thin, tight line. The fierce, pointed look in her eyes would have been enough to frighten off any foolish merfolk that swam too close, and her ear fins flared out with every insignificant movement in her periphery.</p><p>The dim twilight of the reef was still too blinding. The startlingly bright moon cast rays of speckled silver onto the calm ocean surface, splitting through the air rich waters and letting the beams dance carelessly across the yellow sand.</p><p>Her jaw clenched tighter.</p><p>She still wasn’t quite used to that concept yet. <em>Light.</em></p><p>Light could flourish across the ocean with endless colours, blooming across the corals and stones like a mosaic of vivid life. It could drift across the dazzling sky, twisting the shadows into strange directions and forms. Each day, the white of the moon and the tiny, distant stars leapt and chased each other over the horizon, and every time, the blinding gold of the sun would follow.</p><p>Light could warm up the water with its soft touch until she could feel its affects caressing across her ragged and scarred scales, and it made her want to sink into the sand and nap. She wanted to bask in the heat and close her eyes, forgetting the ice of the deep that clawed its way into her heart and kept her painfully alert, shivering and awake.</p><p>The light made her <em>feel</em>.</p><p>It was different. She didn’t understand it. There was light and coral and colours, and vast swathes of open sky. She could poke her head out from the water and see for miles on end.</p><p>She didn’t know this land. She didn’t understand how things worked anymore. <em>And she couldn’t stand it.</em></p><p>Spikes of pain burst across her abdomen and chest, and her head pounded, once again begging her to rest, if only for a moment. Her stomach twisted into painful, agonisingly sore knots, ravenously starving and scratched raw from metal and plastic.</p><p>She needed to eat, but she would not. She couldn’t bear the thought of it, her gut clenching even now, and she certainly didn’t have the strength to hunt.</p><p>Still, even if she <em>did</em> happen to feel like eating, God Tamer would outright refuse to let herself accept someone else’s catch.</p><p>Who knew what poisons or dangers they would hide inside? Sharp barbs and needles, maybe a few more fishhooks, a plastic bag or two, just to taunt her.</p><p>Her eye twitched, stinging.</p><p>That mudskipper especially looked like the sort to use toxins. She was round and dumpy, not particularly strong looking, and seemed to behave with complete openness, charming and friendly.</p><p>It was a clever approach; the champion could admit as such. She had worked hard at first at gaining God Tamer’s trust, offering her a freshly caught fish and grinning so genuinely, God Tamer had almost believed it. She was a smarter mudskipper than she looked.</p><p>There was no possibility of a fat thing like her winning in hand to hand combat, so clearly, she would rely on tricks and backhanded methods to win her fights. Poisoning food would be a given; an easy, simple method. Lower her guard, offer her gifts, fill her already damaged stomach with blades and let her burn to death on her own stomach acid. The little bitch.</p><p>God Tamer had spent long enough surrounded by her sort to see their tricks. Watched many merfolk puke up their own blood and organs just as the fight began, melting away from the inside. Their unassuming opponent claiming their victory.</p><p>Or maybe… maybe it really was just a fish?</p><p>She shook her head. <em>Stop thinking like that. Trust is what gets you killed. Trust nothing. Don’t let your walls down. Keep them away and afraid. Don’t the them find out how vulnerable you really are right now. They won’t hesitate.</em></p><p>The water rippled, a small gust of wind disturbing the peaceful surface, and her body tensed instinctively, head jerking towards the movement and claws scratching across the stone in reflex.</p><p>Tiso stirred a little as flecks of rock crumbled around her fingers, his tail fin twitching, before coiling his body tighter like a knot. She held her breath, going even more rigid.</p><p>God Tamer had tucked herself away at the very back of his cave, keeping to the darkest shadows and keeping watch out from the wide, open entrance. Her tail pulled tight to her body, drawing in as small and unnoticeably as physically possible. No one could find her in here. No one could kill her in here. <em>As long as she stayed awake.</em></p><p>That isopod didn’t look like the fighting sort either, she thought, keeping her mind distracted. Again, rather plump and sociable. He had smiled and introduced himself, offering her aid and reaching out to her as she hacked up glass and debris. Going after her while she was spasming in agony. Right at her weakest moment.</p><p>Though of course, he had quickly backed away to a sensible distance once she lunged to bite his throat out.</p><p>His type was more than familiar to her, an assassin sort of warrior. He sounded well versed and educated, rule abiding and noble. Those were the kinds of merfolk she had to keep watch for, the kinds that would slit her throat while she slept, or smother her the moment she closed her eyes. His words dripped with false honour and courtesy, and he kept his intent well hidden away.</p><p>It was imperative she reminded him that she was still very much alive and vicious, tricking him into thinking she was far too dangerous prey to hunt after. That way, he would keep to the edges, watch her from afar, and wouldn’t attempt anything quite yet. She needed to regain her strength quickly, or he would soon gain his courage. It wouldn’t take long. She was losing strength more rapidly by the day.</p><p>Tiredness was clouding over her mind in great, heavy swathes, but she couldn’t sleep. She wasn’t safe. God Tamer knew, <em>they knew,</em> she couldn’t fight back. Not properly at least. Her snarling and bared fangs had kept them at bay so far, but one of them was going to take a chance sooner or later. She had to be ready for it. She would not die here. She would not be killed.</p><p>If she let her guard down for <em>one second</em>, they would tear her to shreds.</p><p>
  <em>She could not sleep. She could not.</em>
</p><p>They knew she was sick, and dizzy, and disorientated. They had dragged her here, where the water was different and the food tasted too much, where the sun blinded her and tormented her with splitting headaches.</p><p>They had cracked apart her defences slowly but surely, teasing and tearing apart those walls she kept so well protected. Playing with her, toying with her emotions. Pretending they were here to help and watching her foolish, fragile mind consider it. Offering her kindness when she knew it could not be true, for no one had ever done so before.</p><p>And now they were waiting for her to die.</p><p>If she didn’t fall to the sickness, she would fall to their claws.</p><p>They weren’t warriors, not like the ones she knew. They were cruel, and heartless, making her suffer before they ripped her apart, hoping to betray her just as she opened up to them.</p><p>Tricks and games, she would not be fooled by them. She would survive this.</p><p>The deep sea was her arena and God Tamer was its champion, ruling over the cold, lifeless waters with her quick, ferocious instincts and razor-sharp mind. In the pitch-black of the crushing ocean depths, there was nothing to rely on but her own wits. She knew the environment, manipulated it, used all her cunning to survive, day in and day out. It was ruthless, it was murderous, and she knew how to thrive there.</p><p>She missed the deep. Where merfolk showed no mercy and the weak died quickly, where she knew the best ambush spots, and how to run someone through without a sound. Where her eyes had adjusted to the gloom, and she could see the fools that crept up behind her, holding their daggers high and proud, ready to strike.  </p><p>The merfolk down there didn’t mislead her, didn’t dare to cheat against the likes of <em>her</em>. They didn’t feed her sweet lies, offering her false comfort while clawing down her every defence. Whisper kind words in soft tones as she vomited and cramped and shook and <em>hurt.</em> They set out with murder in their eyes and were always so predictable.</p><p>She was helplessly lost here. So uncertain. Surrounded by foreign dangers and unable to protect herself from any of them. There was no one to watch over her anymore, not since–</p><p>God Tamer bit her lip hard enough to bleed, claws scratching down on the rock again.</p><p>Why did she feel so much now, why was everything falling apart? She despised it, despised the hurt broiling inside her and those reef dwelling monsters that had done this to her.</p><p>They had broken her. She didn’t want to admit it, but they had. Everything had gone wrong, she had lost everything, and these strange and confusing merfolk had tugged and prodded and coaxed her over that knife-thin edge. Now all she could feel was harrowing pain. Her heart felt so heavy with grief that she didn’t know how she could possibly survive with the weight. Every muscle burned with trauma and fatigue, and now, as she retched on bile and struggled to breathe without splitting, debilitating pain, the only thing her body could focus on was all-consuming fear.</p><p>At least now the Rivermouth merfolk had started to drop their act. She had hissed and growled and lashed out, showing nothing but her blazing fury and the promise of death to all those who came near. And soon their sympathetic looks and attempted kindness had dwindled away.</p><p>They regarded her with scorn and unease, nervously glancing at her from the corners of their eyes, kept their distance, and muttered in low tones when they though she couldn’t hear.</p><p>She understood this. Finally, she could see their intentions clear.</p><p>And yet now, as she sat huddled away, trembling and exhausted and waiting for someone to <em>dare</em> strike her, the damage had already been done.</p><p>They had made her lonely.</p><p>Lonely and frightened and unstable, craving the distant, unknown feeling of security.</p><p>She just wanted to be okay, to not expect death with every passing second, for just a little while. Her heart thudded at an erratic pace, never ending, never letting her rest. Blazing heat and ice cold flushed across her scales in a horrible, uncomfortable wave, and her ribs were starting to show like blades across her chest. When she looked at her hands, shaking and thin, the skin was pale and sickly, and the cuts refused to heal no matter how many days went by.</p><p>She just wanted someone to be there, to watch over her, make sure nothing sliced her open while she slept. She just wanted to be safe.</p><p>
  <em>“Hmmnn…”</em>
</p><p>God Tamer jolted upright, eyes flicking suddenly to Tiso’s face as he shifted in his coil, his head lifting like a great heavy stone. Blinking slowly in the dark until his eyes adjusted, his long tail wafting slowly through the water, stretching and aching with drowsiness. He groaned low to himself, hair a complete mess and sticking out in all directions like a tangle of weeds.</p><p>The cave was perfectly shaped to hide him, a circular groove had worn into the rock where he curled, and as his face lifted and stared uncertainly at the shape of her in the back, her heart caught in her throat.</p><p><em>Just go back to sleep</em>, she begged. <em>Go back to sleep and think this was a dream</em>.</p><p>His mouth scrunched up in confusion, eyes squinting, before jerking back suddenly with alarm as he realised he was not alone.</p><p>Without much thought in the matter, God Tamer hissed and bared her fangs, hunching herself tight and backing further against the wall. Her hands were still shaking, damn it, and her stomach hurt <em>so much</em>, breath wavering in silent panic. Tiso’s face fixed on her. She could sense his mounting worry, eyes wide and fins twitching, and her expression narrowed into a blaze of fury, warding him off.</p><p>How could she ever have allowed herself to do this? Her gut twisted in humiliation as he watched her snarl, her heart pounding faster and faster, until she felt herself grow dizzy. Just <em>Go Away! Leave me alone!</em> Her thoughts raced, terror building until it nearly consumed her entirely.</p><p>She couldn’t chase him away; this was <em>his</em> cave. She had snuck in here without his knowledge, and he had every right to drive his shield through her heart for trespassing. She was such a fool, a stupid, pathetic fool.</p><p>Her chest heaved, fins splaying out in warning. But deep in her heart, God Tamer hoped so desperately that he wouldn’t go.</p><p>Tiso was the <em>one thing</em> she still knew. The one thing that she understood in this distant reef so far from home, and as her entire life crumbed around her, he was the one and only thing that kept her from drifting into nothingness.</p><p>Before, when she was ruling over the Colosseum, he had often been there. Flirting and taunting and doing everything in his power to make her angry, begging for a fight. She had declined him over and over, hitting and threatening and tossing him away, but he never stopped pestering her, even when she bit down at his tail. And when they did fight, when he finally wore away at her resistance, it was <em>fun</em>. Stupid, pointless fun.</p><p>Tiso was an idiot, swimming all the way to the bottom of the ocean <em>just for a laugh</em>, for a bit of mindless action, and while he was a reasonable fighter, he never actively hunted for her blood.</p><p>Trust was a difficult word, one that God Tamer did not use lightly, if at all. But Tiso? He was familiar, and foolish, and had a terribly rasping voice that reminded her of claws on polished slate. He always succeeded in driving her crazy, pushing all the right buttons until she couldn’t help but dive at him, determined to wipe that stupid smirk off his face, and his shimmering tail brought a flash of colour to her miserably black world.</p><p>Right now, she was cracking into pieces, her emotions spilling and scrabbling at the fissures in her resolve and threatening to drown her underneath it all. She was so, <em>so lonely</em>. Her eyes kept flicking back to his hands, every time she tried to pull them away, thinking about how warm and nice it would feel to hold them. Just for a minute.</p><p>She just wanted to rest. She just wanted to sleep, and be okay, and have someone touch her for once in her life, without pain or injury.  She hated how these merfolk had pulled these terrible, heart wrenching thoughts to the forefront of her mind, but God Tamer really couldn’t help it. She was so scared. So afraid of this unfamiliar, perilous reef, that all she wanted, all she could possibly think about, was how much she needed a hug.</p><p>It didn’t have to be a big one, she wouldn’t ask for too much. Just a small one, or maybe a shoulder to lean on, to sit by her. Someone in this sea of danger, who she could trust not to stab her and claim their victory. To be there for her. Let her know she didn’t have to be afraid for the night. Just for the night.</p><p>That was why she was here, after all.</p><p>The cave was open and filled with trinkets, loose shells and shiny things scattered across the floor, and balanced on the worn down ridges in the walls. Just by looking, God Tamer could tell how useless this was as a fortified shelter. The entrance was too large and the cavern too shallow, not a single kelp strand to disguise her. Nowhere to hide, waiting for danger to pass.</p><p>But <em>he</em> was here, and God Tamer knew him, and somehow, in this mess of a situation she had gotten herself into, that made her feel just a tiny, little bit safer.</p><p>Tiso was frozen just as still as she was, and as his brows knitted together and his mouth shut tight, tail swishing back into a different style of knot, she realised that the worry he felt wasn’t directed at himself.</p><p>His mouth opened a few times, obviously considering what to say, –which was a first– before finally he whispered out, “Do you need something?”</p><p>Both of them knew that was a horrible starting line; he cringed with his mouth turning up in a grimace, and she bared her teeth again. But still, the silence lingered, before God Tamer eventually found her voice as well.</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Oh.” He said, his eyes washing over her with a peculiar expression. She knew how she looked. Thin and ghostly with sunken in eyes, her muscles wasting away and her already greyish scales losing their colour and shine.</p><p>He looked so warm.</p><p>“…Are you sure?” Tiso asked again, chest wriggling back down into the wrapped coil of his tail, until his arms were hidden from view.</p><p>She didn’t respond, hunching down further and looking back out into the bright, exposed reef. He wasn’t watching, she had to watch. She couldn’t take the risk. Her gaze stayed pointedly away from him, she forced it away, and out of her corner of her eye, she noticed his shoulders tense up.</p><p>Nothing happened. Nothing ever happened. The shallow ocean was still and calm. But it might, and she was sure something <em>should </em>happen. No merfolk could simply sleep and relax through the night. Not while around so many others, so many dangers.</p><p>She couldn’t sleep.</p><p>She couldn’t sleep.</p><p>
  <em>She was so tired.</em>
</p><p> “…No.”</p><p>His fins perked up, tilted in confusion. “No?”</p><p>The water rippled, pillars of silver beginning to flicker at the edge of the cave.</p><p>She couldn’t explain. Didn’t quite understand it herself, how much she <em>needed</em> this. How could her gut be twisting with so much longing, so much agonising, desperate loneliness? With one heavy, trembling breath, she forced her head towards him, looking him directly in the eye, her body arched and shaking and frigid with cold.</p><p>Something must have shown in her expression, he must have understood what she was trying to convey, because his eyes widened for a moment and his fins dropped with a quiet “<em>Oh.</em>”, before he slowly, hesitantly uncurled.</p><p>Even as he slid towards her, keeping low to the ground, her entire body stiffened further. Despite her attempts to slow her breathing, her heart pounded, and her fins twitched with the instinct to lunge, bite his neck and flee. Chest tightening and vision sharpening with hyper alertness. But she kept still, let him swim until he rested gingerly beside her, and she could feel the heat glowing off of his scales like the sun. Was he always so hot, or was she just unnaturally cold right now?</p><p>He swallowed, considered his options, watching her gaze return to the water. Everything about him seemed equally as nervous as her, stiff and fidgety, eyeing the exit, –her threatening tactics had obviously drawn a result– but nonetheless, he didn’t edge away, so she didn’t either. She couldn’t bear the isolation any longer. Not when this was so close within her grasp.</p><p>He laughed awkwardly, letting out an anxious breath. “Please don’t gouge me, I really don’t need any more scars.” And with that, he steeled his resolve and quickly wrapped himself around her.</p><p>His tail was long and frilled, curling around her form twice, and the moment he did, she couldn’t stop the low gasp from escaping her lungs. His arms hugged around her trembling shoulders as her entire body froze, and his head tucked under her chin, resting at her collar.</p><p>It felt like he was pure energy, she could feel his breath ghosting across her neck, and her heart pounded fast enough to hurt.</p><p>Something began buzzing and itching under her scales, tugging at her stomach and muscles and chest, and a strange, heavy thing lodged itself inside her throat. Her instincts were screaming with absolute terror as he kept her immobilised, and her claws automatically flared out to kill. But that <em>something</em> inside of her grew and grew and spread, until she could feel it crackling through her blood like fire.</p><p>As Tiso remained there, gradually sagging against her shoulder, his hands splayed across her side and his head nosing further into her neck, that distant, unfamiliar part of her mind finally clicked.</p><p>She felt happy.</p><p>Safe.</p><p>There was something tight around her, preventing her from escaping, but it was okay, because she knew it wouldn’t hurt her. It wasn’t the weight of chains, or fallen rocks, or any kind of deep-sea danger. Out there, far down into the merciless ocean, the looming threat of the Colosseum still rested heavily over her. But for now, just for now, she was okay.</p><p>Tiso held her tight. He was warm… and slimy… but that was fine, because for the first time in her entire life, she knew what it meant to be <em>held</em>.</p><p>Slowly, –as the moonlight danced and Tiso shifted into her a little more– very, <em>very</em> slowly, her body started to relax. Arms that previously gripped tight to her chest began to lower, resting over his tail, and hands attempted to copy his. Splaying out across the navy scales and feeling him tense and relax under her palms.</p><p>When was the last time she had ever touched someone like this? Perhaps she never had. Even now, her claws felt the panicked urge to dig in and draw blood, to <em>get this thing off of her, get it off, get it away! </em>But his tail end flicked, swaying and curling back and forth, obviously content, and somehow, she managed to push those ingrained thoughts far back, letting her fingertips drum lightly instead.</p><p>The muscles in her back unwound, immediately beginning to ache as the cramp ebbed at her, but she slumped into his side, and his arms grew tighter in return.</p><p>This was nice.</p><p>
  <em>Really nice.</em>
</p><p>She didn’t want to let go. It was so strange and foreign, this feeling. So unlike what she was used to. No cold, crushing blackness, no restless state of alarm. She was okay. This was okay.</p><p>But she really wanted to hold his hand too. Eyes flicked back to where her fingers lay, still tremoring with fatigue, and wearily, she slid her hands down to brush against Tiso’s dorsal frills. Her fingers curled around them, not too hard, brushing the delicate skin over her claws, and she was rewarded with a quiet sound from him.</p><p>The corner of her mouth twitched up; <em>she was so good at this</em>.</p><p>The night continued drifting thoughtlessly onwards as they rested against each other, the beating of her heart growing slower and slower, until the sound of it pounding no longer rushed in her ears, and the tense knots in her tail began to loosen.</p><p>Tiso had long since closed his eyes, his breathing slow and heavy, setting a rhythm for her to match, but she still wasn’t quite ready to let herself completely lose her vigilance. Her eyes remained open, still stinging, stomach still churning and clenching, even as her fins twitched with the warmth that was flourishing inside of her.</p><p>With a small sigh, he nuzzled into her shoulder again, and said, “You know, you really do need to eat something. I can feel your stomach grumbling from here.”</p><p>She immediately tensed, body going on the defensive, and Tiso flinched.</p><p>“No.” It was a harsh sound, low and bitter, and she felt his tail loosen just a fraction. Her claws scratched, trying to keep him close, but it only succeeded in making him back off more. The empty pit in her chest gripped and twisted in pain as the heat disappeared from her scales, and she barely repressed a shiver, missing the sensation already.</p><p>His head lifted, and she saw his face, lit up by the moon. Hair scruffy and askew, she noticed that the itch at her neck must have been from the scraggly bits of beard he was attempting to grow. His brows creased in concern as he spoke. “You’ll die if you don’t.”</p><p>“I’ll die if I do.” She snapped out, and his ear fins tilted again, drooping. She wrinkled her face up in a half-hearted snarl; she hated pity. She didn’t want it, especially not from him.</p><p>“You won’t. Not everyone here is trying to kill you.”</p><p>“Well I haven’t met anyone who isn’t.”</p><p>The words were biting, exasperated, but something in them must have struck him, because Tiso’s entire expression reeled with shock. His mouth fell slightly open so she could see his fangs, and his eyes grew wide. The hands that rested at her hip balled into fists, and God Tamer quickly backtracked, trying to take back whatever offence to prevent him from letting go. “Except for you.”</p><p>It didn’t help, not in the slightest, he still gaped down at her with a weird sense of crestfallen horror, and her body seized up, ready to push him away and flee.</p><p>Yet he didn’t give her the chance, tugging her back into his arms and coiling his tail even tighter around her. Surprise erupted in her chest, an unfamiliar emotion, and she nearly bit down at whatever flesh was closest. The beating of his heart was so close, she could feel it against her chest, a steady thrum, reminding her that he was still there, and she let her fins relax and wilt again. The warmth and security and <em>feeling</em> flared back up, and she noticed with astonishing realisation, she hadn’t been keeping watch.</p><p>“Well. I promise I will never kill you.” Tiso said, chin scratching at her neck again, and she huffed, turning her gaze away to the shell collection on the far wall.</p><p>“Wow. Forgive me if I don’t start weeping in gratitude.”</p><p>Her voice was sharp, but he sniggered quietly, shaking lightly with the movement. After a few tense minutes had passed, feeling his chest rise smoothly against hers and his fingers brush gently against her sharp fin, God Tamer returned to her previous state. Easing into his side, shifting to coax him to wrap tighter, and letting her hands run along the grooves of his scales.</p><p>“It’s so quiet here.”</p><p>“Yeah, it always is.” He whispered, rubbing his face in a way that made her tickle, and she resisted the urge to claw the tufts from his chin. “Usually that’s why I came down to visit you, it’s such a bore. I have to get out and find something with a real challenge.”</p><p>She huffed, mouth tilting up into a faint smile. When he talked, she could feel his jaw move, and for some strange reason, it made her feel so much more secure. Tiso was close and all around her, and despite all logic telling her otherwise, it felt like nothing could damage her. “So, when you’re not pestering me at the bottom of the ocean, what <em>do</em> you do?”</p><p>“Oh well, in nice weather we sunbathe on the rocks, which is really great, and Myla tends to sing. I annoy Hornet until she agrees to spar with me–”</p><p>“But neither of you are dead.” She interrupted, voice low and scratchy. Tiso scoffed, his breath heating up her skin in a way she never knew was possible, like the currents from a volcanic vent. Was everything about contact this warm? This soft? Her fins drooped lower, snuggling into him.</p><p>“No. we don’t fight each other that seriously. Ghost would never forgive me, and Hollow would certainly kill me too. Though when she does agree, she really doesn’t hold back, we end up covered from head to tail in bruises. And she doesn’t even banter when we fight!”</p><p>“Well what’s the point then?” She mumbled, her head lifting higher and her mouth pressing into the fluff of his dishevelled hair.</p><p>“Right? Anyway, I couldn’t kill her. She’s always getting into trouble, and I always have to be there to rescue her. I think I would miss her glowing praise once she was gone.”</p><p>“That’s a complete lie.”</p><p>“Oh, I’m sorry, who died and make you the lie queen?”</p><p>Her voice was muffled, but the unimpressed tone still carried clearly. “I have a kill count in the millions, I’m sure one of them is sure to have passed the honour to me.”</p><p>He scoffed, fins flicking, but God Tamer continued to smooth her hands over his tail in slow, languid movements, developing a rhythm that lulled her into a trance. Still so annoying, he never changed, and she sighed into his hair, scratching lightly at the tip of his frill to make it twitch. But everything about this was so familiar that she couldn’t help but sink into him a little more.</p><p>“Other than that,” He added, wriggling as she irritated his fin, “there’s games, and catching fish, and eating lots of food. We just chill really, but its nice. After all the mess with the Radiance and Hollow and all that, why not just lie about in the sunshine? Ghost always makes me chase them, and then I have to pretend can’t see them hiding. That’s always entertaining. And we have this really fun game where we have to leap in the air and catch a seagull as it flies past. I’m winning of course.”</p><p>“Lie.” She whispered, the crushing tiredness beginning to weigh down upon her completely, draining all her strength. Her eyelids started to fall, vision dwindling away into black, but she didn’t have the will to stop them. This was so nice, so cosy and snug. She could melt into this hug forever. The idea of laying in the hot sun was so tempting, such a perfect thought, it filled her mind like a burst of light, and as Tiso rubbed circles into the back of her neck, pressing deep, it felt like she was becoming lighter than air.</p><p>Mock outrage found its way into his voice, and he spoke in hushed fury. “You don’t know that! I could be winning. Well, actually the record is held by Hornet, but I’ve caught the most!”</p><p>“Lie.”</p><p>His fingers moved to brush along her fin, stroking across the pointed ridges and travelling down her back, lifting to stroke down again. It fluttered in his touch, before lazily folding down to rest at her spine. “Tsk. Yeah fine, it’s Hornet again, but I’m closing in on her. Just you wait, I’ll be champion before the week is over.”</p><p>“Lie.”</p><p>“You’re not even listening to what I’m saying now are you?”</p><p>She didn’t even reply to that, humming something unintelligible and nuzzling into his head, as her thoughts were completely blanketed by exhaustion. The soft touches to her fin broadened into his palms running down the length of her back, from her neck, to her shoulders, the to the furthest point he could reach along her tail, before his own had smothered it in its coil.</p><p>“<em>I’ll be here. Okay?”</em> Was the last thing she was able to hear, distorted and distant, before exhaustion finally, <em>finally</em>, took its hold of her. His hands scratched and pet away the tension in her spine, feeling her scarred, freezing cold body collapse into his arms.</p><p>And for the first time in her entire life, wrapped up in a strange and unfamiliar reef, hidden away from prying eyes, God Tamer fell into an undisturbed sleep.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>2020 is the year for recovering from trauma and touch starvation bro</p></blockquote></div></div>
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